familypediawikiaorg-20200214-history
February 26
Events *747 BC - Epoch (origin) of Ptolemy's Nabonassar Era. * 364 - Valentinian I is proclaimed Roman Emperor. *1266 - Battle of Benevento: An army led by Charles, Count of Anjou, defeats a combined German and Sicilian force led by King Manfred of Sicily. Manfred is killed in the battle and Pope Clement IV invests Charles as king of Sicily and Naples. *1794 - Christiansborg Castle, Copenhagen burns down. *1797 - The Bank of England issues the first one-pound and two-pound notes. *1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from Elba. *1848 - The second French Republic is proclaimed. *1863 - U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the National Banking Act into law. *1870 - In New York City, the first pneumatic-subway opens. *1885 - The Berlin Act, which resulted from the Berlin Conference regulating European colonization and trade in Africa, was signed *1887 - At the SCG, George Lohmann becomes the first bowler to take eight wickets in a Test innings. *1897 - Sigma Pi Fraternity, International was founded at Vincennes University. *1917 - The Original Dixieland Jass Band records the first ever Jazzrecord for the Victor Talking Machine Company in New York. *1919 - An act of the U.S. Congress establishes most of the Grand Canyon as a United States National Park (see Grand Canyon National Park). *1929 - The Grand Teton National Park is created. *1935 - The Luftwaffe is reformed. * 1935 - The Daventry Experiment, Robert Watson-Watt carried out a demonstration near Daventry which led directly to the development of RADAR in the United Kingdom. *1936 - In the February 26 Incident, young Japanese military officers attempt to stage a coup against the government. *1952 - United Kingdom Prime Minister Winston Churchill announces that his nation has an atomic bomb. *1966 - Apollo Program: Launch of AS-201, the first flight of the Saturn IB rocket *1970 - National Public Radio incorporates as a non-profit corporation. *1971 - Secretary-General U Thant signs United Nations proclamation of the vernal equinox as Earth Day. *1972 - Buffalo Creek Flood caused by a burst dam kills 125 in West Virginia. *1984 - US troops withdraw from Beirut. President Ronald Reagan had sent the troops as a peacekeeping force in August 1982. *1986 - People Power Revolution in the Philippines. *1987 - Iran-Contra affair: The Tower Commission rebukes American President Ronald Reagan for not controlling his national security staff. *1990 - The Sandinistas are defeated in Nicaraguan elections. *1991 - Tim Berners-Lee introduces WorldWideWeb, the first web browser. * 1991 - Gulf War: On Baghdad Radio Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein announces the withdrawal of Iraqi troops from Kuwait. .]] *1993 - World Trade Center bombing: In New York City, a truck bomb parked below the North Tower of the World Trade Center goes off, killing 6 and injuring over a thousand. *1995 - The United Kingdom's oldest investment banking firm, Barings Bank collapses after a securities broker, Nick Leeson, loses $1.4 billion by speculating on the Singapore International Monetary Exchange using futures contracts. *2001 - The Taliban destroy two giant Buddha statues in Bamyan, Afghanistan. *2004 - The United States lifts a ban on travel to Libya, ending travel restrictions to the nation that had lasted for 23 years. * 2004 - Macedonian President Boris Trajkovski is killed in a plane crash near Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. *2005 - Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt orders the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005 by asking Egyptian parliament to amend Article 76 of the constitution. Births *1361 - Wenceslaus, King of Bohemia (d. 1419) *1564 - Christopher Marlowe, English dramatist (d. 1593) *1587 - Stefano Landi, Italian composer (d. 1639) *1671 - Anthony Ashley-Cooper, English politician and philosopher (d. 1713) *1672 - Antoine Augustine Calmet, French theologian (d. 1757) *1714 - James Hervey, English clergyman and writer (d. 1758) *1715 - Claude Adrien Helvétius, French philosopher (d. 1771) *1720 - Gian Francesco Albani, Italian Catholic cardinal (d. 1803) *1746 - Archduchess Marie Amalie of Austria, duchess of Piacenza (d. 1806) *1748 - Jeremy Bentham, English jurist (d. 1832) *1786 - François Arago, French mathematician (d. 1853) *1799 - Émile Clapeyron, French engineer and physicist (d. 1864) *1802 - Victor Hugo, French writer (d. 1885) *1808 - Honoré Daumier, French painter, illustrator, and sculptor (d. 1879) *1814 - Charles Joseph Sainte-Claire Deville, French geologist (d. 1876) *1829 - Levi Strauss, German-born clothing designer (d. 1902) *1846 - William F. "Buffalo Bill" Cody, American pioneer, officer, and hunter (d. 1917) *1852 - John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon, advocate of dietary reform (d. 1943 ) *1857 - Émile Coué, French psychologist (d. 1926) *1858 - Vladimir Serbsky, Russian psychiatrist (d. 1917) *1861 - King Ferdinand of Bulgaria (d. 1948) * 1861 - Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, Russian revolutionary, Lenin's wife (d. 1939) *1879 - Frank Bridge, English composer (d. 1941) *1882 - Husband E. Kimmel, American admiral (d. 1968) *1885 - Aleksandras Stulginskis, President of Lithuania (d. 1969) *1887 - Grover Cleveland Alexander, American baseball player (d. 1950) * 1887 - William Frawley, American actor (d. 1966) *1893 - I. A. Richards, English literary critic (d. 1979) *1899 - Max Petitpierre, member of the Swiss Federal Council (d. 1994) *1902 - Jean Bruller, alias Vercors, French writer and illustrator (d. 1991) *1903 - Giulio Natta, Italian chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1979) *1906 - Madeleine Carroll, English actress (d. 1987) *1907 - Dub Taylor, American actor (d. 1994) *1908 - Tex Avery, American cartoonist (d. 1980) * 1908 - Jean-Pierre Wimille, French race car driver (d. 1949) *1909 - King Talal of Jordan (d. 1972) *1911 - Tarō Okamoto, Japanese avant-garde artist (d. 1996) *1912 - Dane Clark, American actor (d. 1998) *1914 - Robert Alda, American actor (d. 1986) *1916 - Jackie Gleason, American actor, writer, composer, and comedian (d. 1987) *1918 - Otis Ray Bowen, American politician and physician * 1918 - Theodore Sturgeon, American writer (d. 1985) *1919 - Mason Adams, American actor (d. 2005) * 1919 - Rie Mastenbroek, Dutch swimmer (d. 2003) *1920 - Danny Gardella, American baseball player (d. 2005) * 1920 - Tony Randall, American actor (d. 2004) * 1920 - Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (d. 2006) *1921 - Betty Hutton, American actress and singer (d. 2007) *1922 - Margaret Leighton, British actress (d. 1976) *1926 - Miroslava Stern, Mexican actress (d. 1955) *1927 - Tom Kennedy, American game show host *1928 - Fats Domino, American musician * 1928 - Anatoli Filipchenko, Soviet cosmonaut * 1928 - Monique Leyrac, French Canadian singer and actress *1930 - Lazar Berman, Russian pianist (d. 2005) *1931 - Ally McLeod, Scottish footballer and manager (d. 2004) *1932 - Johnny Cash, American singer (d. 2003) *1934 - Robert Novak, American political columnist *1937 - Hagood Hardy, Canadian musician and composer (d. 1997) *1938 - Evagoras Pallikarides, Cypriot freedom fighter (d. 1957) *1941 - Tony Ray-Jones, British photographer (d. 1972) *1943 - Bill Duke, American actor and director *1945 - Peter Brock, Australian motorsports champion (d. 2006) * 1945 - Bob Hite, American singer and harmonicist (Canned Heat) (d. 1981) * 1945 - Marta Kristen, Norwegian actress * 1945 - Mitch Ryder, American musician (The Detroit Wheels) *1946 - Ahmed H. Zewail, Egyptian chemist, Nobel laureate *1947 - Sandie Shaw, English singer *1949 - Emma Kirkby, British early music singer *1950 - Helen Clark, Prime Minister of New Zealand *1951 - Lee Atwater, American political operative (d. 1991) *1953 - Michael Bolton, American singer *1954 - Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey *1956 - Keisuke Kuwata, Japanese singer *1957 - David Muldrow Beasley, American politician * 1957 - Joe Mullen, American ice hockey player *1958 - Michel Houellebecq, French novelist *1959 - Rolando Blackman, American basketball player *1960 - Jaz Coleman, British musician *1962 - Greg Germann, American actor *1966 - Najwa Karam, Lebanese singer *1968 - Ed Quinn, American Actor *1968 - J.T. Snow, American baseball player *1969 - Hitoshi Sakimoto, Japanese composer *1971 - Erykah Badu, American singer * 1971 - Max Martin, Swedish composer and producer * 1971 - Hélène Ségara, French singer *1973 - Marshall Faulk, American football player * 1973 - Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Norwegian footballer * 1973 - Jenny Thompson, American swimmer *1974 - Sébastien Loeb, French rally driver *1976 - Nikolaos Siranidis, Greek diver *1977 - Marty Reasoner, American ice hockey player * 1977 - Shane Williams, Welsh International Rugby Player * 1977 - Josh Towers, American baseball player *1978 - Abdoulaye Diagne-Faye, Senegalese footballer * 1978 - Marc Hynes, British racing driver * 1978 - John Tartaglia, Broadway performer and "Muppeteer" *1979 - Corinne Bailey Rae, English singer * 1979 - Mariano Bainotti, Argentine racing driver * 1979 - Pedro Mendes, Portuguese footballer *1980 - Alex Fong, Hong Kong singer * 1980 - Gary Majewski, American baseball player * 1980 - Leela Majumdar, Bengali writer *1981 - Kertus Davis, American NASCAR driver * 1981 - Johnathan Wendel, American professional video gamer *1982 - Song Hye Kyo, South Korean model and actress *1983 - Kara Monaco, American model * 1983 - Varick Pyr, Hip-Hop artist *1984 - Emmanuel Adebayor, Togolese footballer * 1984 - Natalia Lafourcade, Mexican singer *1985 - Alexandria Hilfiger, American actress, daughter of Tommy Hilfiger *1986 - Crystal Kay, Japanese singer *1987 - Julia Bond, American adult actress *1993 - Taylor Dooley, American actress Deaths *1154 - King Roger II of Sicily (b. 1093) *1200 - Symeon, former Serbian ruler and saint *1266 - King Manfred of Sicily *1360 - Roger Mortimer, English military leader (b. 1328) *1525 - Cuauhtémoc, Aztec ruler *1552 - Heinrich Faber, German composer *1561 - Jorge de Montemayor, Spanish writer *1577 - King Eric XIV of Sweden (b. 1533) *1608 - John Still, English bishop *1630 - William Brade, English composer (b. 1560) *1638 - Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician (b. 1681) *1723 - Thomas d'Urfey, English writer (b. 1653) *1726 - Maximilian II Emanuel (b. 1662) *1770 - Giuseppe Tartini, Italian composer (b. 1692) *1802 - Esek Hopkins, American Revolutionary War admiral (b. 1718) *1813 - Robert Livingston, American signer of the Declaration of Independence (b. 1746) *1815 - Prince Josias of Coburg, Austrian general (b. 1737) *1821 - Joseph de Maistre, Savoyard diplomat and writer (b. 1753) *1864 - Louis-Hippolyte Lafontaine, French Canadian politician (b. 1807) *1883 - Alexandros Koumoundouros, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1817) *1889 - Karl Davydov, Russian cellist (b. 1838) *1903 - Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor (b. 1818) *1913 - Felix Draeseke, German composer (b. 1835) *1921 - Carl Menger, Austrian economist (b. 1840) *1931 - Otto Wallach, German chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1847) *1933 - Princess Thyra, daughter of Christian IX of Denmark (b. 1853) *1947 - Heinrich Häberlin, Swiss politician, member of the Federal Council (b. 1868) *1950 - Sir Harry Lauder, Scottish Music Hall Entertainer, Knighted for WWI War Work (b. 1870) *1961 - King Mohammed V of Morocco (b. 1909) *1966 - Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, Indian freedom fighter and writer (b. 1883) *1969 - Levi Eshkol, Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1895) * 1969 - Karl Jaspers, German psychiatrist (b. 1883) *1971 - Fernandel, French actor (b. 1903) *1981 - Howard Hanson, American composer (b. 1896) * 1981 - Robert Aickman, English writer and conservationist (b. 1914) *1985 - Tjalling Koopmans, Dutch economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1910) *1989 - Roy Eldridge, American musician (b. 1911) *1990 - Cornell Gunter, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1938) *1993 - Constance Ford, American actress (b. 1923) *1994 - Bill Hicks, American comedian (b. 1961) *1995 - Jack Clayton, British film director (b. 1921) *1997 - David Doyle, American actor (b. 1929) *1998 - Theodore Schultz, American economist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902) *2000 - George L. Street III American Navy Submariner (b. 1913) *2001 - Arturo Uslar Pietri, Venezuelan writer (b. 1906) * 2001 - Sir Donald Bradman, Australian cricket player (b. 1908) *2002 - Lawrence Tierney, American actor (b. 1919) *2003 - Christian Goethals, Belgian racing driver (b. 1928) *2004 - Shankarrao Chavan, Indian politician (b. 1920) * 2004 - Adolf Ehrnrooth, Finnish general (b. 1905) * 2004 - Boris Trajkovski, President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1956) *2005 - Jef Raskin, American computer scientist (b. 1943) Holidays and observances *Bahá'í Faith - February 26, Day 1 of Ayyám-i-Há (Intercalary Days) - days in the Bahá'í calendar devoted to service and gift giving. *Nation of Islam - Savior's Day - commemoration of the birthdate of Wallace Fard Muhammad, believed to be Allah in human form, the saviour of the black race. *Liberation Day in Kuwait (1991). Liturgical feasts *Saint Nestor (died 251) *Saint Alexander of Alexandria *Saint Victor *February 26 External links * BBC: On This Day * * On This Day in Canada ---- Category:February